Paleolithic vs. modern diets - selected pathophysiological implications

The nutritional patterns of Paleolithic humans influenced genetic evolution during the time segment within which defining characteristics of contempor ary humans were selected. Our genome can have changed little since the begi nnings of agriculture, so, genetically, humans remain Stone Agers - adapted for a Paleolithic dietary regimen. Such diets were based chiefly on wild game, fish and uncultivated plant foo ds. They provided abundant protein; a fat profile much different from that of affluent Western nations; high fibre; carbohydrate from fruits and veget ables (and some honey) but not from cereals, refined sugars and dairy produ cts; high levels of micro-nutrients and probably of phytochemicals as well. Differences between contemporary and ancestral diets have many pathophysiol ogical implications. This review addresses phytochemicals and cancer; calci um, physical exertion, bone mineral density and bone structural geometry; d ietary protein, potassium, renal acid secretion and urinary calcium loss; a nd finally sarcopenia, adiposity, insulin receptors and insulin resistance. While not, yet, a basis for formal recommendations, awareness of Paleolithi c nutritional patterns should generate novel, testable hypotheses grounded in evolutionary theory and it should dispel complacency regarding currently accepted nutritional tenets.